Lent 2013 – February 20

During Lent I am am reading The Way to Love: The Last Meditations of Anthony De Mello,a chapter a day. Today’s chapter, “The Bind See,” talks about giving up one’s filters of attachments, beliefs, and fears (that create the way we see the world rather than the way the world really is) as a means of seeing (so that we can truly love).

The following devotion from Henri Nouwen continues in the same vein–that of giving up one’s attachments (possessions).

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The Nonpossessive Life by Henri Nouwen

To be able to enjoy fully the many good things the world has to offer, we must be detached from them. To be detached does not mean to be indifferent or uninterested. It means to be nonpossessive. Life is a gift to be grateful for and not a property to cling to.

A nonpossessive life is a free life. But such freedom is only possible when we have a deep sense of belonging. To whom then do we belong? We belong to God, and the God to whom we belong has sent us into the world to proclaim in his Name that all of creation is created in and by love and calls us to gratitude and joy. That is what the “detached” life is all about. It is a life in which we are free to offer praise and thanksgiving.